Mexican growers, govt call US warning against types of tomatoes unjust скачать в хорошем качестве

Mexican growers, govt call US warning against types of tomatoes unjust

(13 Jun 2008) SHOTLIST 12 June 2008 1. Boxes of tomatoes packed for export 2. Close up of tomatoes in boxes 3. Wide of tomato boxes 4. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Jesus Antonio Sker Valdez, Tomato Grower: "All Mexican products are inspected when crossing into the United States, so that is not possible. These products which were contaminated came from inside the United States and were not Mexican products." 13 June 2008 5. Man buying tomatoes at a food market 6. Tilt up from tomatoes on the stall to customers at the market 7. Mid of a market seller placing tomatoes on a scale 8. Wide of the seller handing over tomatoes in a plastic bag to a female buyer 9. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Jose Yac, Mexican Congressman: "I believe it's going to deeply affect our growers. Without a doubt, all the area of Sonora and Baja California has relied not only on exports to the US but also to Europe, and this is a threat to us, as the US is sending a message to the world that our tomatoes are not good, which is something that affects us and it's also not true." 12 June 2008 10. Wide of tomato boxes 11. Man handling tomatoes boxes STORYLINE: Export quality tomatoes flooded food markets in Mexico on Friday as shipments to the US were stopped by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after 167 people became ill with suspected cases of salmonella in 17 states in the country since mid-April. The FDA has not pinpointed the outbreak's source, but cleared imports from six other countries, while blocked Mexican imports, a country which supplies 80 percent of tomatoes imported into the U.S. Mexican growers and government officials called the warning unjust, noting that it has brought exports to a halt and could cripple Mexico's one (b) billion US dollar tomato industry. The U.S. has no proof that any contaminated tomatoes were from Mexico, they say. "All Mexican products are inspected when crossing into the United States, so that's not possible. These products which were contaminated (with salmonella) came from inside the United States and were not Mexican products," tomato grower Jesus Antonio Sker Valdez, told AP Television. A delegation of Mexican officials flew to Washington D.C. on Thursday to help the FDA find the source of the outbreak. But some U.S. consumers already associate the outbreak with Mexican produce, and have stopped buying the fruit this week. For Mexican congressman, Jose Yac, the US is sending a damaging message to the world about Mexican tomatoes. "Without a doubt, all the area of Sonora and Baja California has relied not only on exports to the US but also to Europe, and this is a threat to us, as the US is sending a message to the world that our tomatoes are not good," Yac said. At the capital's bustling central food market, truckloads of tomatoes are now arriving in boxes originally meant for the US. The top quality tomatoes now sell for 35 cents a pound (8 pesos per kilogram) in Mexico City, a third below normal prices. Most customers don't know about the U.S. salmonella scare, and those who do, don't seem alarmed. Some shoppers said they've always been more careful than Americans in preparing produce, they have to be, because vegetables sold in Mexico are not held to the same standards as those certified for export. About 120 thousand people were sickened by salmonella in Mexico last year, according to Mexican health authorities, three times the average 40-thousand cases reported in the US, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...